10 Things Your Mental Health Is More Important Than
Persons often fail to understand how important caring for their mental health is. Arguably, caring for your mental health is the best thing you can do for yourself and your body.
Studies have shown that when one cares for their mental health, it is more likely that their productivity levels will increase in all areas of their life. Needless to say, your mental health should be one of the most vital aspects of your life if not the most.
While on Instagram, I saw a tweet by Steven Bartlett entitled the aforementioned which made me think about how underappreciated mental health care is. Here is a further elaboration on his points.Your mental health is more important than:
- Anyone’s Opinion
Many of us grew hearing “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” What a lie that was! Words do hurt and oftentimes, persons’ opinions of us hurt as well. You may start to wonder for instance why someone keeps verbally bullying you irrespective of you not being a bother to them. Yes, we may feel sad but the truth is, we can never truly control another’s actions. They will do whatever they want to regardless of whether or not it hurts you. That’s just how people are. While we can’t control their actions, we can, however, control how we respond to them. We can choose to turn their criticism and demeaning words into that of motivation which will propel us to delve further into success. I met a little girl once whose art teacher told her that she was no good at art and that she should focus her energy elsewhere. While some may deem this as constructive criticism, this girl did not because she was truly passionate about her craft. Instead of sulking and giving up, she persisted and is now the proud owner of her very own successful art business.
That is a prime example of the execution of positive mental health. Instead of feeding yourself negative meaningless thoughts, aim to look at the brighter side of things and how you can propel yourself forward. It’s all in how you react. You can choose to give up, sulk, and fall into depression or you can plan and execute how you will be better. It’s all up to you.
2. Important Plans
In life, you will always have a few stressful events, people, or plans. With these plans, however, the key is always to remain positive while never giving up. For instance, many of us make plans for our lives. We plan the college we want to go to, the job we want to do, the year we want our first child and the year to buy our first car. Countless amounts of persons normally say, “I must get a car by 25.” or “I must own my home by 30.” When these don’t work out as planned however, we begin to feel like failures which in turn leads to depression. Not everything will work out as it is planned. Never stress over failed plans or plans in general. Develop that ability to train your mind to handle stress so much so that you will never choose to put a plan before your mental health. Your mental health is important and ought to be a top priority.
3. Your Job
I cannot emphasize this enough; if you are in a job that is mentally and emotionally burdensome, you may need to weigh the pros and cons to decide whether or not you should leave. (Even though you really should.) I honestly do believe that everyone should love their job and that one’s job should teach them how to grow even more as a person. If your job makes you unhappy then that is a red flag. Do your self a favor and possibly look into different fields to expand and grow. A happy job = a happy you.
4. Your Relationship
As mentioned directly above, if you are in a relationship that is mentally and emotionally burdensome, you need to LEAVE. A mentally and emotionally burdensome relationship is cataphoric to not only your mental health but your overall health as well. If I were to sit here and tell you to stay in a continuously emotionally burdensome relationship then I would mean you no good. To care for a significant other, you must first have to know how to care for yourself. To love a significant other unconditionally, you need to know how to first love yourself. A relationship should never take precedence over your mental health. Never.
5. Looking Tough
Many times we try to create a facade so that others can’t tell whenever we are hurting without realizing how detrimental that is to our health. It is okay to be vulnerable with those you love most. As a male, I’m learning this myself as well. In being vulnerable, you’d be opening your heart to mental freedom. I understand that now. I hope you do too. ❤
6. Qualifications
Material things ought not to take precedence over what is most vital in our lives. Just as how you cannot compare the joy of a job position to that of familial love, you likewise cannot compare your qualifications to your mental health. Sometimes in the pursuit of attaining these qualifications, we lose ourselves without knowing. For instance, every time we stay up late at night to study for a degree, we don’t realize how negatively sleep deprivation impacts our mental health. When sleep-deprived, unproductivity the next day will be at an all-time high which makes it worse for one’s health. Yes, qualifications are important but so too is your mental health. They should both go hand in hand but your qualifications should never exceed the importance of mental health.
7. Family Wishes
Be who you want to be and do whatever makes you happy. Sometimes our family’s wishes go outside what gives us joy. To be honest, you have one life to live. Your life shouldn’t be solely spent on making others happy but yourself happy as well. A happy you will be a better you physically, mentally, and emotionally.
8. Likes and Followers
These should not define you. You are not more important for having a large number of followers and or likes, neither are you less important for having vice versa. Instead of feeding on followers and likes for validation, you should try venturing into newer and different things to make you a better person. Do things that make you feel happier and valued. If you believe social media doesn’t help you to feel just that, then perhaps taking a break would be best. During that break, you can do some well-needed self-introspection which will be of utmost benefit to your mental health.
9. People Pleasing
First of all, pleasing others should never even be on your radar. Why would you? Do what suits YOU best. Do what YOU love. Do what makes YOU happy. In life, you can never please everyone. What you can do, however, is aim to please yourself. The peace that will come in your life when you’re happy is completely indescribable.
10. Being an Inconvenience
At some point in our life, we have all been an inconvenience to someone. We should never let this deter us however because quite frankly, it is just life. As such, I don’t believe this is worth stressing over. What you should in turn do is if you realize that it is making you sad, think positively as there is power in the mind.
Caring for your mental health should be a top priority. Your mental health is far more important than you can even imagine. There will come a day when many of our physical bodies may fail us and we will no longer be able to enjoy what we once did. Despite the failures of the body, what will remain is the mind. The body is nothing without a sound mind. Care for it.
